Tuesday, February 21, 2012

There is no truth to the rumor that Lake Zurich had been seeking to become a sister city with Acapulco. But a staticky voicemail resulted in Lake Zurich becoming an accomplice city with Cicero. As in Cicero, Illinois.

Some revealing similarities between a secret mall development project in Lake County and one in suburban Cicero has everyone intrigued. Will a recent Lake Zurich mall development project, advanced by members of the Dimucci family and the Lake County board, take the same trajectory as a mall development project advanced by the Dimucci Cos. and members of the Cicero Town Board, seven years ago?

Whether or not deserved, it has a reputation and Lake County operatives want to know what it takes to pull off a big development deal in a town like Cicero. According to The Town of Cicero itself, it may just be some of the same old same old:

Cicero is waging a costly court battle to get out of a development contract for a new retail center at 29th Street and Cicero Avenue, claiming that conflicts and poor contract wording make the deal void. In a court filing in the case Aug. 30, officials accuse former Cicero town attorney Ed Vrdolyak of having a conflict of interest with the developer, though the only evidence is an unsigned contract for a different property. Cicero spokesman Dan Proft admitted that though there's no signed documentation proving any conflict, he said there's good reason to suspect Vrdolyak of wrongdoing. "It's 'Conflicts 101,'" Proft told the Life. "He was on both sides of the deal."Cicero wants out of 29th St. project

The Town of Cicero website identified the developer:

Anthony Dimucci, the developer, has sued Cicero to hold up its end of the deal that was approved by the Town Board in March 2005. The board agreed to the development plan right before President Larry Dominick came into office.Cicero wants out of 29th St. project

... and the name of the development company, Dimucci Cos.:

The developer had proposed to complete his part of the deal through a company called Dimucci Cos., which also developed the 457,000-square-foot Cicero Marketplace shopping center on Cicero Avenue. However, once Dominick came into power, he killed the Dimucci deal. According to the lawsuit, former Town President Ramiro Gonzalez incorrectly filed the required paperwork for the agreement, and the deal also was too vague about Dimucci's requirements. And, Cicero claims the Dimucci Cos. doesn't exist, that there's no company licensed under that name in state records. Dimucci did not return a phone call for comment.Cicero wants out of 29th St. project

Out of curiosity, your LakeCountyEye checked to see if there were any political contributions attributed to Dimucci. Yes there were:

Note to ops: The secret to success in business is as old as business itself and remains the same if you do business in Cicero or in Lake Zurich -- offer a product or service people want, and have no competition.